Windmill Lodge Care Home in Brixton Hill is known for its love of music. Whether that’s live performances from visiting entertainers, or the speaker system playing popular songs from the past, music is a big part of daily life.

Music has many benefits, especially for people who live with dementia. Playing popular songs from the past can be a powerful way to bring back memories and soothing music can help to calm a person when they’re feeling agitated or stressed. The way music makes people feel depends on the type of music played and how they listen to it, for example, live music creates a whole different listening experience for a person, than it does to music played through a speaker.

Knowing how important music is to each and every person at Windmill Lodge, the team recently decided to purchase a piano so live music can be enjoyed more regularly.  When residents heard about the arrival of the piano, they were all very excited to hear how it sounded and have a go at playing a tune themselves.

Windmill is lucky to have a talented team member who knows how to play the piano, so residents will regularly be treated to live performances from the team and visiting entertainers.

One group that is especially excited about the new piano is the Windmill Choir. This is made up of team members and residents and during previous meetings, they have sung along to music played on their speaker system, but now, they can create their own live music and sing along to the sounds of the piano.